This application is related and claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119, to Japanese Patent Application No. 10-373989 filed on Dec. 28, 1998 and Japanese Patent Application No. 10-373990 filed on Dec. 28, 1998, the entire contents of which two Japanese Patent Applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a floor system built on a base floor so that cables, such as power cables or signal cables, can be laid in a space between a bottom of the floor surface of the floor system and the base floor, wherein the cables are connected to various electronic devices installed on the floor surface in an office and more particularly, to a structure of a floor system having a seismic isolation structure.
2. Discussion of Background
A floor system, used for a floor of an office where various electronic devices are installed, is constructed in such a manner that a plurality of floor panel units are supported by supports distributed on a base floor, and a space, formed between the bottom of the panel units and the top of the base floor, may house cables connected to the electronic device.
Such a floor system, as described immediately above, has low safety against an earthquake due to its structure. In fact, even during an earthquake having a medium magnitude on the Richter scale and wherein no buildings collapse, the floor system would most likely be extremely affected, and various office equipment, such as electronic devices, information devices, conmmunication devices, and office desks, all of which are usually installed on a floor system, would most likely be heavily damaged. Therefore, there are increasing requests for an anti-earthquake or seismic isolation design of a floor system itself in addition to the anti-earthquake design of a building.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a floor system, of a seismic isolation type, having a simple structure, and which can be produced and constructed at a low cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a floor system having a most suitable seismic isolation characteristic according to a building or a floor of the building.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a floor system whose seismic isolation characteristic can be easily adjusted according to circumstances.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a floor system for easily replacing an existing floor system of a non-seismic isolation type with a floor system of a seismic isolation type.
To accomplish the above objects, the floor system, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, provides a space for laying cables between the bottom of the floor surface of the floor system and a base floor on which the floor system is built. The floor system includes: a sliding surface formed on at least a part of the base floor; a plurality of supports arranged on the sliding surface so as to freely slide; and a plurality of panels, which are mutually connected to each other having ends thereof fixed to the plurality of supports, and which form a floor surface with a space between the bottoms of the plurality of panels and the top of the base floor on which the floor system is built, wherein the floor system is characterized in that the coefficient of friction between the bottoms of the plurality of supports and the sliding surface is within the range from 0.09 to 0.25.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the sliding surface is composed of any one of the following: a non-ferrous metal, such as a stainless steel sheet or a hard plated steel sheet; a plastic coated plate wherein the coating includes polytetrafluoroethylene sold under the trademark xe2x80x9cTeflonxe2x80x9d; and a plastic plate including polytetrafluoroethylene.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the bottoms of the plurality of supports are composed of any one of a group consisting of plastic, brass, iron, or hard plated iron.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the bottoms of the plurality of supports are attached to a support leg, wherein the support leg has a surface in contact with the sliding surface, and the surface of the support leg is composed of any one of a group consisting of any one of plastic, brass, iron, or hard plated iron.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the hard plating, of both the hard plated steel sheet and the hard plated iron mentioned above, includes chromium.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the plastics are any one of a group consisting of plastics made entirely of polytetrafluoroethylene, plastics made of some polytetrafluoroethylene, plastics made of some oil and carbon, and plastics made of some of a solid lubricant.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the sliding surface has a sufficient area so that the plurality of supports can slide by a distance of at least xc2x110 cm or more.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that at least a part of the cables (i.e., that part which is in contact with the sliding surface) is made of a member for reducing the frictional resistance, wherein the member is made of some of a material for reducing frictional resistance, such as polytetrafluoroethylene.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the cables, which are laid in the space between the bottom of the plurality of panels and the top of the base floor, have enough slack so that a sliding operation of the plurality of supports is not restricted.
The floor system, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the plurality of panels are made of approximately square plates having corners which are fixed to the plurality of supports.
A floor system, according to a second embodiment of the present invention, provides a space for laying cables between a bottom of a plurality of panels of the floor system and a top of a base floor on which the floor system is built. The floor system includes: a plurality of sliding plates arranged on the base floor; a plurality of supports arranged on the sliding plates so as to freely slide; and a plurality of panels, which are mutually connected to each other by having ends thereof fixed to the plurality of supports, and which forms a floor surface with a space between the bottoms of the plurality of panels and top of the base floor on which the floor system is built.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the sliding plates are composed of any one of a group consisting of: a non-ferrous metal, such as a stainless steel sheet or a hard plated steel sheet; a plastic coated plate having a coating made of some polytetrafluoroethylene sold under the trademark xe2x80x9cTeflonxe2x80x9d; and a plastic plate made of some polytetrafluoroethylene.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the bottoms of the plurality of supports are composed of any one of a group consisting of plastic, brass, iron, and hard plated iron.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the bottoms of the plurality of supports are attached to a support leg, wherein the support leg has a surface in contact with the sliding plates, and the surface of the support leg which is in contact with the sliding plates being composed of any one of a group consisting of plastics, brass, iron, and hard plated iron.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the hard plating, of both the hard plated steel sheet and the hard plated iron mentioned above, is composed chromium.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the plastic is any one of a group consisting of plastic made entirely of polytetrafluoroethylene, plastic composed of some polytetrafluoroethylene, plastic made of some oil and carbon, and plastic made of some solid lubricant.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that each of the sliding plates has a sufficient area to allow the plurality of supports to slide a distance of at least xc2x110 cm or more.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that at least a part of the cables (i.e., that part which is in contact with the sliding plates) is made of a member for reducing frictional resistance, wherein the member is composed of some of a material for reducing frictional resistance, such as polytetrafluoroethylene.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the cables, which are laid in the space between the plurality of panels and the base floor, have enough slack so that a sliding operation of the plurality of supports is not restricted.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that either the sliding surface/plate) or the bottoms of the plurality of supports/support legs are made of any one of a group consisting of: a non-ferrous metal, such as a stainless steel sheet or a hard plated steel sheet; a plastic coated plate having a coating at least partially made of polytetrafluoroethylene sold under the trademark xe2x80x9cTeflonxe2x80x9d; and a plastic plate made of at least some polytetrafluoroethylene.
The floor system, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, is also characterized in that the plastic is any one of a group consisting of: plastic made entirely of polytetrafluoroethylene; plastic made of some polytetrafluoroethylene; plastic made of some oil and carbon; and plastic made of some solid lubricant.
A method for constructing a floor system, according to a third embodiment of the present invention, includes the steps of: forming a space for laying cables between bottoms of a plurality of panels of the floor system and a top of a base floor on which the floor system is built; forming a sliding surface on at least a part of the base floor; arranging a plurality of supports, each having pedestals and a bottom, on the sliding surface so that the bottom of each support is in contact with the sliding surface; and forming a floor surface by mutually connecting the plurality of panels to each other by having the ends thereof fixed to the pedestals of the each support of the plurality of supports, wherein the sliding surface and the bottoms of the plurality of supports are made of materials having a coefficient of friction within a range of from 0.09 to 0.25.
A method for constructing a floor system for forming a space, in which cables can be laid, between a bottom of a floor surface of the floor system and a top of a base floor on which the floor system is built, according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, includes the steps of: arranging a plurality of sliding plates on the base floor; arranging a plurality of supports, each support of the plurality of supports having a pedestal and a bottom, on the sliding plates so that the bottom of each support is in contact with the sliding plates; and forming the floor surface by mutually connecting a plurality of panels to each other by having the ends thereof fixed to the pedestals of the plurality of supports.
A method for constructing a floor system for forming a space for laying cables between a bottom of the floor surface of the floor system and a top of a base floor on which the floor system is built, wherein the floor system is built on different floors of a building, according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and includes the steps of: forming a sliding surface on at least a part of the base floor of each floor; arranging a plurality of supports, wherein each support of the plurality of supports has a pedestal and a bottom on the sliding surface, so that each support of the plurality of supports is arranged in a manner that the bottom of each support is in contact with the sliding surface; and forming a floor surface by mutually connecting a plurality of panels to each other by fixing the ends thereof to the pedestal of each support of the plurality of supports, and wherein the sliding plates and bottoms of the plurality of supports are made of materials having a coefficient of friction which is within the range from 0.09 to 0.25, and wherein the coefficient of friction on a lower floor is selected to be smaller than the coefficient of friction on a higher floor.